Goals for a Goal: Counting continues into NCAA Tournament
As the Gopher Women's Hockey team enters NCAA Tournament play, we continue to count the goals they've scored this season. And it's not too late to enroll in the Power Play Club's Goals for a Goal campaign to convert each of those goals into a donation back to the team! Headed into the Big Dance, they have lit the lamp 133 times, with 37 of them coming on the power play!!
Pledges per goal can be submitted online, with the option to double your pledge for power-play tallies. The Golden Gopher Fund will send out invoices following the completion of the season. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!
NCAA Tournament – Single-elimination
Quarterfinal – #5-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (27-9-2)
at #4-seeded Clarkson Golden Knights (32-4-2)
Saturday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. CT
Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY
The Golden Gophers have earned a bid to their third-straight NCAA Women's Ice Hockey National Collegiate Tournament but are headed on the road for the quarterfinal round. Earning the #5 seed, they travel to northern New York state for a meeting against the 4th-seeded Clarkson University Golden Knights at Cheel Arena in Potsdam.
TIME CHANGE – Game time this Saturday, March 16, is now set for 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT. This is an hour earlier than originally reported.
Tickets are on sale through the Clarkson University ticket office here.
Game coverage – Video of Saturday's game will streamed on the ESPN+ subscription service. Free audio play-by-play with announcer Dan Hamann will be streamed on GopherSports.com starting 15 to 20 minutes before puck drop here. Free live stats will be available here.
Previously against Clarkson – The Golden Gophers and Golden Knights have met twice previously in NCAA Tournament games with Clarkson coming out victorious both times, defeating Minnesota 5-4 in the 2014 National Championship game and 4-3 in the 2017 Frozen Four semifinals. In the latter contest, Gophers Kate Schipper, Sarah Potomak, and Sophie Skarzynski lit the lamp to erase 3 different one-goal deficits, but Clarkson's Rhyen McGill netted the game-winning goal on rebound with 1:31 to play. Sidney Peters made 21 saves for Minnesota, while Shea Tiley stopped 28 shots for the Knights.
Analyzing the Golden Knights – Though posting a better overall record than Colgate thanks to a 11-0-1 non-conference mark, Clarkson finished the regular season second in the ECAC behind the Raiders with an 18-3-1 league record. After sweeping Princeton in the best-of-3 conference quarterfinals, 3-2 (2OT) & 6-3, they knocked off rival St. Lawrence 3-1 in the semis before falling to Colgate 3-0 in the ECAC Championship.
Clarkson averaged 3.45 goals per game across all contests, good for fourth in the ECAC, and they feature six players who have surpassed the 30-point mark. Senior Nicole Gosling (#21) had a team-high 37 points, is tied for the team-lead with 14 goals, and has dished out 23 assists. Junior defender Haley Winn (#4) is second in total scoring, dishing out 27 assists while lighting the lamp 9 times herself for 36 points. Former Gopher Anne Cherkowski (Sr., #24) and grad student Dominique Petrie (#29) each have 33 points; Cherkowski joins Gosling with 14 goals and has 19 assists, while Petrie has 13 goals & 20 assists. Grad students Darcie Lappan (#27) and Brooke McQuigge (#26) each have 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points.
Defense has been a strength of the Knights, recording NCAA bests for opposing scoring at 1.18 goals-per-game and penalty kill rate at 91.8%. Senior Michelle Pasiechnyk (#1) has been Clarkson's primary goaltender, going 24-4-1 (one no-decision) in 30 starts with 8 shutouts, a 1.31 goals-against average, and a .943 save percentage. Sophomore Julia Minotti (#31) boasts even better stats with an 8-0-1 record, 5 shutouts, a meager 0.57 GAA, and a .965 SV%. Juniors Alexa Madrid (#30) & Holly Gruber (#35) have seen only limited action; Madrid made a brief 4-minute appearance against Harvard this season, not facing a shot on goal, while Gruber appeared in a pair of games in 2022-2023.
Last weekend for Clarkson – In the ECAC semifinals against St. Lawrence, Haley Winn and Sena Catterall gave the Knights a 2-0 lead early in the second period, though Rachel Bjorgan lit the lamp for the Saints just 77 seconds later to pull within one. However, Michelle Pasiechnyk was perfect after that, finishing with 31 saves in total, and Catterall tallied her second goal of the game into an empty net for the 3-1 victory. The Knights and Colgate squared off for the ECAC Championship and played a scoreless first 48 minutes until Madeline Palumbo lit the lamp for the Raiders. Colgate's Kayle Osborne kept Clarkson off the board with 30 saves while Elyssa Biederman tacked on an empty-netter and Emma Pais scored after that for the 3-0 shutout. Pasiechnyk made another 38 saves.
2024 Patty Kazmaier Award Top 3 Finalists to be Named Today
The announcement of the Top 3 Finalists for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented to the best player in Division I Women's Ice Hockey, is expected today (Wednesday, March 13). We send one more shoutout to Gopher Women's Hockey forward Abbey Murphy on being named a Top 10 Finalist!
The Top 3 Finalist announcement will be shared on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, with more details posted on pattykaz.com.
WCHA 2023-2024 Award Winners
Wrapping up the WCHA season for another year, we share the announcements of the league's award winners for 2023-2024.
Forward of the Year – Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin
Defender of the Year – Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
Goaltender of the Year – Sanni Ahola, St. Cloud State
Rookie of the Year – Joy Dunne, Ohio State
Coach of the Year – Nadine Muzerall, Ohio State
Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year – Clara Van Wieren, Minnesota Duluth
Player of the Year – Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin
Dickerman Named New Coach at MSU after Harrington Retires
Minnesota State University women's hockey alumna Shari (Vogt) Dickerman was promoted to head coach of the Mavericks earlier this week after John Harrington stepped down from the position. Dickerman becomes the fifth head coach in the history of the MSU program, having been a member of the coaching staff since 2009, and briefly served as Acting Head Coach in during the 2023-2024 season.
As a goaltender for the Mavericks, Dickerman was named to the 2004 Division I All-American Second Team and was a Top 10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award that year. She was also a two-time All-WCHA First Team selection. Her 3,590 career saves at MSU are 5th all-time in the NCAA Women's Division I record book.
Prior to coaching at her alma mater, Dickerman spent one year as an assistant coach for the girls Prep 19U team at Shattuck-St. Mary's and was an assistant coach at Mankato West High School before that. More recently, she served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and the 2023 & 2024 Rivalry Series against Canada.
Harrington will remain in the MSU Athletics Department for the remainder of the academic year, serving as Special Assistant to the Athletic Director before his full retirement from the school on June 30. A 1980 U.S. Olympian on the "Miracle on Ice" team, he finished with an 85-198-25 overall record in nine seasons leading the Mavericks. We send him our best wishes on a happy retirement.
2024 World Championship Medal-round Tickets on Sale Today
Single-game tickets for the medal round of the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship – including quarterfinal & semifinal contests and the bronze & gold-medal games – will go on sale today (Wednesday, March 13) at 12 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. CT at 2024.womensworlds.hockey/tickets.
Single-game tickets for the preliminary round are also on sale using the link above. The tournament is hosted this year by the United States at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York, starting Wednesday, April 3. The playoff round begins with the quarterfinals on Thursday, April 11, and runs through the medal games on Sunday, April 14. More tournament information can be found on the event's website here.
Other NCAA Tournament Matchups – First Round
Cornell (24-7-1) vs. Stonehill (21-15-2) – at Colgate
Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT
Minnesota Duluth (20-13-4) vs. Connecticut (25-7-5) – at Ohio State
Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT
St. Lawrence (27-10-0) vs. Penn State (22-12-3) – at Wisconsin
Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
Quarterfinals
Cornell / Stonehill at #3-seed Colgate (31-6-1)
TIME CHANGE – Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT
St. Lawrence / Penn State at #2-seed Wisconsin (33-5-0)
Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT
Minnesota Duluth / Connecticut at #1-seed Ohio State (32-4-0)
Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT
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